In The News

Tributes are paid to the musician Jim Sherwood

Tributes are paid to the musician Jim Sherwood

TRIBUTES have been paid to the musician Jim Sherwood, whose career was closely linked with the work of Frank Zappa.

Mr. Sherwood, who has died aged 69, was a member of Zappa’s original Mothers of Invention band.

He and Zappa had met while attending high school in California in the ’50s.

Mr. Sherwood, who was known as ‘Motorhead’ because of his love of working on cars and motorcycles, was a saxophone player. He jammed with Zappa in a number of groups before joining his new outfit, The Omens, in the early 1960s.

However, when Zappa set-up the Mothers in 1964 Mr. Sherwood was not, at first, a fully fledged member. He acted as equipment manager and roadie for a time before finally joining the group which changed its name to the Mothers of Invention.

He worked on the albums Absolutely Free (1967), We’re Only In It For The Money (1968) and Uncle Meat (1969).

The Mothers were disbanded by Zappa in 1969, but Mr. Sherwood appeared on several more albums which had been recorded before the break-up and not released until later.

Mr. Sherwood’s involvement with Frank Zappa was to continue over many years after the break-up of the original band.

He appeared on later albums by Zappa, including You Are What You Is in 1981 and Civilization Phaze III which was completed in 1993, the year Frank died.

To view footage of a studio performance with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, which was recorded in 1968, click here.

 

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